Booker T. Washington (15 April, 1856 – 14 November, 1915) was a prominent author, educator, politician and orator in America during his lifetime. The last to represent African-American leaders born in slavery, he was a dominant figure in the African-American life from 1890 till his death.

In 1901 the country woke up to a shock, the previous day 16 October, President Theodore Roosevelt invited Booker T. Washington to have dinner at the executive mansion (known today as the White House) with the First Family. Not only black, but a former slave, the invitation created fodder for news papers, vile cartoons and vulgar songs.